French author Albert Camus tells us, “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” And what opulent bouquets the leaves of autumn do create—whole mountainsides of dazzling color. But nature has a way of combining the sublime …

The opossum is one of the most frequently encountered U.S. wildlife species, showing up in woods and swamps, plains and marshes, cities and suburbs—and in backyard gardens, where it may play some important roles in controlling garden pests and even …

As almost every U.S. gardener knows—they are out there. They are out there in teeming millions, they are out there in colonies and queendoms. They are out there on the earth, on the shrubs, on the trees. They are ants, …

Tar sands—a mixture of sand, clay and water from which a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum, called bitumen, can be extracted—underlie more than 54,000 square miles of northeastern Alberta, Canada. Roughly the size of Florida, this area marks …

When I first moved into one of Washington, D.C.’s Virginia suburbs, shrouded with heavy woodlands, I was thrilled by a little flash of energy that rocketed past me one day as I stepped from house to backyard. Was that a …

Spring is here, and birds around the world—and in your backyard—are turning into construction crews. It’s nesting time! Many songbirds are master builders, putting together intricately made weavings of twig and leaf, stem and fluff, hair and moss. Some nests, …

As winter draws to a close, gardeners begin their spring migration into the outdoors, leaving winter dens behind and coming into contact with the harbingers of the shifting seasons: shovels, hoes and trowels. Oh, and earthworms. Anyone prone to working …

Have you been dreaming of a white Christmas, or dreading it? Either way, the very essence of winter in temperate climes is snow. And what a wonderful thing snow is. Think of it—when temperatures are low enough, water falls from …

Donors are the foundation of NWF’s success in protecting wildlife and habitat, getting children outdoors and fighting climate change. The threats facing the natural world are diverse and ever-changing, putting heavy demands on NWF resources—which is why every gift and …

Every year around Thanksgiving, NWF staff members phone a selected list of individual donors to thank them for their generosity in supporting the Federation’s conservation work. In making these calls, we touch base person-to-person with the people who make our …